The Heat Death of the Gilded Lilly
By Jamie F. Bell
Simon and Marie are pinned down on the roof of a high-rise wizard's tower during a magical heatwave, forced to share a hiding spot while a predator circles above.
High Fantasy Short Stories
5 Stories
The Cairn's Silent Witness
By Leaf Richards
The boreal forest pressed in, a dense wall of spruce and pine, its summer heat thick and humid, smelling of damp earth and resin. Underfoot, the moss-cushioned ground gave way to sharp, hidden roots. Andie clutched the rough leather map, her knuckles white. Rex moved ahead, a silent shadow among the trees, his eyes scanning for movement. Saol, ever observant, checked their back trail, the rustle of leaves amplified by their frantic pace.
The River's Green Scrawl
By Tony Eetak
Along the industrial banks of the Red River in inner-city Winnipeg, as spring thaws the last of winter's grip, two teenagers, Patti and Mateo, encounter a shimmering, impossibly green light that defies explanation and subtly alters their perception of the mundane.
The Current
By Jamie F. Bell
The stifling summer air hung thick and yellow over the Red River, pressing down on Frankie as he hunched by a collapsing fence. The city’s distant hum felt like a low, insistent heartbeat beneath his trainers, a mechanical pulse against the vast, indifferent expanse of the sky. He watched the sluggish, muddy water, waiting, his own thoughts a similar, slow churn.
The Gutter of Gilded Frames
By Jamie F. Bell
The server room hums with a mechanical, cold drone, a constant reminder of the unseen, ceaseless currents of data. Blue light from a bank of monitors casts stark shadows across Nathan's tired face, illuminating the meticulous, almost obsessive focus in his eyes. He is submerged in the digital detritus of a perfectly constructed online life, a life built on an elaborate scaffold of filtered images and manufactured joy. The air, despite the chill of the climate control, feels heavy with the artificiality he unearths byte by byte.